The .270 Winchester became a very popular deer and elk cartridge due to the widespread praises of gunwriter Jack O'Connor who used the cartridge for 40 years and espoused its merits in the pages of Outdoor Life.[8][9] It drives an 8.4 grams (130 gr) bullet at approximately 960 m/s (3,140 ft/s), later reduced to 930 m/s (3,060 ft/s). The cartridge demonstrated high performance at the time of its introduction and was marketed as being suitable for big game shooting in the 370 to 910 metres (400 to 1,000 yd) range. Two additional bullet weights were soon introduced: a 6.5 grams (100 gr) hollow-point bullet for varmint shooting, and a 9.7 grams (150 gr) bullet for larger deer, elk and moose in big-game hunting.[3]

Loads are commonly available from 6.5 to 10.4 grams (100 to 160 gr), sizes with 8.4-and-9.7-gram (130 and 150 gr) loads being by far the most popular. Handloaders have a larger range of options with the availability of bullets in a number of weights from 5.8 to 11.7 grams (90 to 180 gr). Common bullet weight recommendations for shooting different game are as follows:

Recent introductions of low-drag bullets suited to the 270 Winchester such as the Nosler Accubond Long-Range and Matrix long range bullets are promoting renewed interest in the cartridge among long range hunters.

While it is true that a .270 Winchester case can be formed from a 30-06 Springfield case, the case length of a 30-06 is 63.3 millimetres (2.494 in) while the case length of a .270 is 64.5 millimetres (2.540 in), the same as a .30-03 Springfield. It is recommended that .270 Winchester brass be formed from .35 Whelen or .280 Remington cases.[11]